Witherspoon wanted to make sure her Water for Elephants co-star was coping since she was allegedly cheated on by former husband Ryan ­Phillippe in 2006.

"Reese went through a very public cheating scandal herself when Ryan Phillippe went outside their marriage and hooked up with Abbie Cornish, so her first thought when she heard about Kristen and Rob was to reach out to him and make sure he was okay," a source told Radar.

"Reese knows what it's like to be on display when your heart is broken, so she felt like opening up her home to Rob was the right thing to do.

"She's not trying to lead Rob one way or the other regarding his future with Kristen. Reese and Jim are just giving him the space he needs."